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Obelix (Fr. Obélix) is a fictional character from the French comic
book series Asterix. He
works as a menhir sculptor and
deliveryman, and is Asterix' best friend. Obelix is
noted for his obesity, the
menhirs he carries around on his back and his superhuman
strength. He is the only Gaul in Asterix' village who is always
strong since he fell into the cauldron with magic potion when he
was a small boy. Because of Obelix' already enormous strength he is
not allowed to drink the magic potion ever again, much to his
chagrin. Other characteristics are his simplemindedness, his love
and care for his dog Dogmatix, his anger when someone refers to him as being
"fat", his enthusiasm for hunting and eating wild boars and beating up
Romans. His catch phrase is:
"These Romans are crazy", although usually he considers
other nationalities just as strange, and is accompanied by him
tapping his forehead.

Contents

Fatness
inspection

He is a large man who does not see himself as fat, preferring euphemisms such as being "well
covered" or having a chest that has "slipped a bit". Obelix is
so in denial over this matter that he usually doesn't even notice
when other people refer to him as "that fat one", and often shows
total confusion over which fat person people are referring to. When
he does understand the allusions are made on his behalf he flies
into a rage and starts beating up the person who said it.
Sometimes, when he is in a bad mood, just hearing the word "fat"
can quickly enrage him. Being called fat, or being hinted as being
fat, is one of the main causes of conflicts between Asterix and
Obelix which leads to more developing conflicts in which they must
work together. Although they usually simply insult each other
verbally they inevitably make up swiftly.

Character

Obelix is Asterix' closest friend (they even
have the same birthday - although
this is inconsistent with the comic Obelix and Co., where only Obelix's
birthday is celebrated) and works as a menhir delivery man when not bashing Romans. Obelix also
owns the quarry where he
chisels the menhirs himself. It is never directly stated what the
menhirs are used for, though it is hinted that they are just
oversized knick-knacks; however they are probably a running-gag
regarding the origins of the mystery surrounding Menhirs in ancient
Europe, with the joke being that Obelix delivered them. Obelix
usually trades the stones away for whatever he needs, resulting in
the village having a literal field of menhirs. He has a little dog
named Dogmatix (Fr.
Idéfix). His parents live now in Condatum (as seen in Asterix and the Actress)
and his distant cousin Metallurgix, a golden sickle maker, lives in
Lutetia (as seen in Asterix and the Golden
Sickle).

Obelix is kind-hearted, but socially inept — possibly because
his strength means that others have had to adapt to him instead of
vice-versa. He is still not completely aware of his own strength
and almost invariably breaks any door he gently knocks on.
He is frequently used as a human battering ram for opening
locked doors or breaking through walls. Similarly, he is unaware
that others do not share his superhuman strength, and shows great
surprise when others are crushed by what he calls "a little
menhir", or when Asterix attempts to explain to him that a
small dog like Dogmatix cannot lift a menhir. He also has little
interest in subjects of formal education or intellectual pursuits,
since sheer strength usually solves his problems; he generally
leaves any decisions to Asterix.

His passions in life are hanging around with Asterix, beating up
Roman legionaries (and occasionally collecting
their helmets), eating, and making and carrying
menhirs. Like Asterix, Obelix is a bachelor, but he is easily
smitten by a pretty face. He harbours a hopeless crush on Panacea, the daughter of Soporifix (one of
the other villagers), and occasionally other young women, most
notably Mrs.
Geriatrix (which enrages her
husband). However, one may think that he will eventually find a
mate and have children since in Asterix and the Class
Act, he is shown to be the founder of a long dynasty of
french warriors that lasted well into the 20th century.[1]

Obelix' favourite food is roast wild boar which he usually hunts
with Asterix, but he has a
voracious appetite, and will try eating nearly anything with few
exceptions; in Asterix and Obelix All at
Sea and Asterix in Britain he seems to
not like boiled boar. In fact, he eats nuts and oysters in the
shell, and is completely oblivious to drugs, spicy food and poison.
However, when he consumes alcohol, he gets very drunk very quickly.
Although he has his own house, Obelix is occasionally shown staying
overnight at Asterix's.

His trademark phrase is "These Romans are crazy" ("Ils sont fous
ces romains": in the Italian translation, it is "Sono pazzi
questi Romani", which can be shortened to S.P.Q.R., Rome's motto), although he has applied a variant
of it to nearly every group he's met in his travels: "These Britons
are crazy", "These Corsicans are crazy" etc. This remark is
followed by him tapping his forehead. It is a parody of the quote
"These Gauls are crazy", which Julius Caesar famously said while
describing the Gaul's fighting style during his conquest of the
region.

Strength

Unlike the other villagers, Obelix has no need to drink Getafix the druid's magic potion that gives superhuman
strength, because he fell into the cauldron as a baby and its
effect on him became permanent. The story of that incident is told
in
How Obelix Fell into the Magic Potion When he was a Little
Boy. Since this effect was not intended or expected,
Getafix refuses to allow him even one more drop except under the
direst circumstances (either out of fear for his life, or fear for
the lives of others should the inattentive and
uncoordinated strongman become any stronger), which annoys him
greatly. (In Asterix and Obelix All at
Sea, it is revealed that too much of the potion can turn
the drinker to stone; exactly how much is not known, but a whole
cauldron will certainly do the trick. This appears to only work on
grown people as Obelix didn't turn to stone as a baby) However, in
Asterix and Cleopatra,
Getafix gives him a few drops to open a door in the Great Pyramid's Labyrinth but he comments
that he doesn't see much difference between "before and after the
potion".

Obelix does sometimes display twisted views, especially when it
comes to the relationship between the Gauls and the Romans. As far
as he is concerned the more Romans he can beat up the better and
nobody should deny him this, not even the "selfish" Roman victims
themselves:

In Asterix in Britain, he
dismisses the claim that the Romans have invaded Britain; he believes that
the Britons dragged the Romans over there in order to have all the
fun for themselves.

In Asterix in Corsica, it is
revealed that the villagers attack the Romans at least once a year
in order to celebrate the Gaulish victory at Gergovia. When the Romans
leave their camps in order to avoid the attacks, Obelix sees this
behaviour as crazy and detrimental to their "friendly"
relationship.

In Asterix and Obelix All at
Sea, he has a dream (or nightmare as he puts it) in which
the Romans pull out of Gaul. He's horrified at the idea of such a
dream coming true. He also declares that the idea of peace with the
Romans is offensive to the memory of Vercingetorix. Far more likely is the
fact that peace will mean that he won't be able to bash the Romans
anymore, a prospect he dreads. He then comments on the good "sense"
of the Romans in attacking the village.

The Roman civil war between Caesar and Pompey features in Asterix and the Actress.
When he witnesses a battle between Roman troops, Obelix murmurs
"What a waste!". But this is not so much on the wasted lives as the
fact that it means that he has fewer Romans to bash himself.

Name

Obelix's name is a pun on the French word
obélisque (obelisk), suggested by rotund physique and his
habit of casually carrying heavy stone monuments (Menhirs) around with him. In fact "obelisk" is
also (in both French and English) a variant of the word obelus
(obèle), a typographical mark ("†") often found in a
companion role to that of the asterisk, after which his friend Asterix is named.

In popular
culture

"Obelix" is the nick-name Vitus gives to his 'big-boned'
teacher in the film Vitus.